Fresh on the heels of the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F150 released late last year, Ford has just announced the all-new aluminum-bodied 2017 Ford Super Duty series. After reading through Ford’s press release and reviewing initial photography, it appears the blue oval team may have a very important truck for the truck camper market. Before we get to that, let’s dig into the news, and take a look at this exciting new truck.

The exterior styling of the 2017 Ford Super Duty series clearly takes its design cues from the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F150. At first blush, some may even mistake these new trucks for the less capable half-ton.

Above: The 2017 Ford Super Duty being presented at the Texas State Fair – click to enlarge

The boldest deviations from the F150 are found in the large facing C-shaped head lights and the thicker front grille presentations. Other distinguishing design cues abound, but are more subtle. Put bluntly, if you like the exterior look of the 2015 Ford F150, you’re probably going to like the exterior look of the 2017 Ford Super Duty.

Above: The interior of the Ford F250 Lariat (left) and the Ford F450 Platinum (right) – click to enlarge

The interior styling is also pulled from the 2015 Ford F150, and draws heavily from the existing Super Duty. The angled vents that dominate the visual presentation of the dash in the F150 appear again in the 2017 Super Duty trucks. The family resemblance is unmistakable.

Aluminum Body and Boxed Frame

While we want our trucks to be visually appealing, there’s no point talking about style if the performance and capacity doesn’t measure up. Thankfully, this is where the new 2017 Ford Super Duty series really raises the truck camping eyebrows.

Above: The all-aluminum body of the Ford Super Duty Series – click to enlarge

Aesthetics aside, Ford’s main focus was on reducing the weight of the new Super Duty trucks to improve the payload capability, towing capacity, and fuel efficiency. This was primarily accomplished with two important changes; a new high-strength steel frame, and a new all-aluminum body.

Similar to the 2015 Ford F150 that proceeded it, the 2017 Ford Super Duty series features a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy body. Ford claims their new all-aluminum body is both impervious to red rust corrosion and offers a higher resistance to dents than the pervious steel body.

Above: The frame is fully-boxed and 95% high-strength steel – click to enlarge

The all-new truck frame is fully-boxed and constructed with 95-percent high-strength steel. According to Ford, the new frame is 24-times stiffer than the previous Super Duty frame (see above photographs).

Together with the new all-aluminum body, the new high-strength steel frame helps to reduce the weight of the new Super Duty trucks. Ford claims to have removed up to 350 pounds from the 2017 Super Duty truck builds. This weight savings, in turn, increases the overall towing and hauling (payload) capacity of the new Ford trucks.